Spaces You Fill
by lnori
Summary: When Mashiro Rima thought her life couldn't get to worse from worst, the universe once again proved her wrong. Has she overcome her first love, or is the man with amber eyes going to reawaken long buried feelings within her? RimaHiko romance & smut in the second chapter.


**A/N: Well, hi. I just started rewatching Shugo Chara recently, and my inner RimaHiko fangirl was awakened. I just love these two too much! So yeah. It's a two-chaptered story, with a nice smutty scene and some more drama in the next chapter. Until then, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Spaces You Fill**

Rima hated Novembers. Ignoring the cold weather and the crestfallen expressions on everyone's faces, she also had to work with grumpy middle aged men and try to protect her precious hair from the icy rain and howling wind. Not only that, but she had to wear oversized woolly sweaters with boots and this combination only made her short self look even shorter. Not that she disliked her height, though, she must admit, sometimes it was indeed uncomfortable having to raise an arm just to be seen by the cashier, or not to get trampled over other customers. Not to mention her looks. She still gave off a teenager vibe, so wherever she went, people confused her with a high school student and never took her seriously.

Glancing at her wristwatch, Rima sighed inwardly as her thin arms hugged her chest, while her heeled foot tapped against the concrete. Another thing she absolutely hated, were people who were not tardy. And among them was also her boyfriend of a year and a half. For some reason, she always ended up waiting for him, and no matter how much she adjusted her schedule – to arrive fifteen minutes later than the appointed time, or trying to make him wait for her instead – somehow, he always ended up late. And Rima hated that, especially now, having to wait for him right by the entrance to the park.

"Jesus, I'm freezing here. What is keeping him up this time?" The young woman asked to her own self, while gritting her teeth in annoyance.

That day was the worst of them all. After finally landing a job in a renewed editorial, her boss decided to fire her out of the blue. It came as a shock, especially since she's been working there for a while now, and her colleagues were just as shocked.

However, deep down, Rima knew the reason too well, and despite that she should've been mentally prepared for this to come, she still had faith in people. Then again, maybe she should just give up. Nothing good ever comes from middle aged men who lead boring lives.

Puffing out hot air, she watched it rise in the air and then get swallowed by the city. She was lightly shaking because of the cold, and cursing under her breath that her trench wasn't keep he warm enough. She crossed her legs and hugged herself closer, sighing and watching her caramel locks getting frizzy, courtesy of the air.

She will make sure to punish him, one way or another. Cold lips lifted in the slightest at the thoughts crossing her mind, at the simplest images of how she'd punish him.

And just as she was mentally going through the fourth sequence of torture, a familiar voice called out to her. "Rima!" Her name sounded distant and unfamiliar for some reason, coming from someone like him.

He dashed to her side of the sidewalk, dark hair dishevelled and heavily grasping for air.

"S-sorry for making you wait, Rima..." He apologised half-heartedly, while standing up and steadying himself, only to look at her with a weird expression.

But Rima decided to let it past, and get going. She couldn't wait to get in his car, to feel warmth and then to isolate herself with a load of blankets and hot chocolate. She wanted him to hold her close, caress her hair and tell her sweet nothings, only to end up making love and wash away all of her worries.

"How about we go for a walk?" He asked with uncertainty, while heading towards the park itself.

Rima made a face and looked up to him. "I'm freezing. I've been waiting for you for almost an hour." She stated simply, her autumnal eyes not leaving his dark ones.

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "It won't take long," and with that, headed towards the park.

Rima was this close to explode but ended up following him anyways.

The silence was unsettling. Usually, whenever they met up after work and would take a walk, he'd blabber about all the small things that happened to him during the day, thus taking up most of the time. And then, he'd ask her how her day was and Rima would tell him that it was normal. Then they'd drive to one of their places and spend the night. This time, however, it wasn't the case. They did nothing but walk in silence, him a good few feet ahead of her, and Rima having a difficult time keeping up. She eventually had to shout after him that she was getting some coffee from a stand, since she was at her limits with the cold.

Eventually, he decided to sit on a bench and Rima reluctantly followed suit. She noticed the way he was fidgeting with his fingers, nervously running his hand through his locks, gulping a bit too soon. And somehow, it hit her. His steady distance was finally making sense. It all fell into place, the way he was gradually falling apart from her.

"Spit it out." She stated coldly, not looking at him. She hated situations like these. She's been through too many already. And the worst part, they were always the same.

Intentional or not, they always ended up getting tired of her.

Call it a chain of misfortune, but it was one _he_ started with his very own hands – or rather, lack of.

"I... Uh, I..."He was still nervous about facing her, and Rima realized that this time too, she had to be the one to step up for him. After all, this whole relationship was about her manning up for his stead as well, since he was such a puss.

And she's had enough. Not only did he make her wait in the cold for so long, he even called her out there to fall prey to freezing winds, and now he won't even open his damned mouth.

Getting to her feet a bit too abruptly, she let out a sigh and threw the plastic cup with half emptied coffee in the nearest bin.

"I've had enough. All this while, it had to go as you wanted. I always had to compromise with either your lifestyle of mindset, but you'd never indulge me. Never. I'm done." She said with an icy voice and turned her back to him, small feet quickly taking her away.

X

Eyes of autumn opened lazily to the intruding light. Most of her room was covered in semi-darkness, but some playful rays have managed to sneak through the curtains and into her domain. Grunting ever so slightly, she managed to get up, and slowly rubbed her tired and swollen eyes. Wearing but an oversized tee and some boxer shorts, caramel locks were a delicious mess, sprawled over the thin of her back.

The woman yawned and after stretching a bit managed to get out of bed and walk towards the windows to pull the curtains. Checking her watch she noticed it was past eleven in the morning. She felt a tad bit weird about waking up at such an hour, but being unemployed had its perks. Though Rima still had to get used to them.

A couple of days after being fired and breaking up with that scumbag, she felt herself wasting time in her studio, eating more than she was supposed to and play games. Not that she minded. It's not like she needed to work, given her family background, but somehow, she felt better having her own income.

Not that she could say the same at the present.

Walking out of her bedroom, she struggled to tie her hair in a bum at the top of her head and headed to the kitchen to have some coffee made. She wasn't one to have breakfast so, until the coffee was ready, she slumped on the small leather couch and turned on her laptop, checking her emails and facebook.

Obviously, nothing interesting was going on, during the weekdays.

Ever since graduating high school, she's lost touch with most of the Guardians. She and Amu would catch up at every few months on the phone if they couldn't meet up. As far as Rima knew, Amu's life as the beautiful wife of the director to Tsukiyomi enterprise meant more than cocktail parties and business meetings and fancy lunches. She and Ikuto fought really hard to get where they were standing and now, they were expecting a small miracle. Utau and Kukai had started their own recording company, which went rather well, though it still needed time to become one of the top tier companies. As for Tadase, he took over the family business not long ago. Yaya was working too, while Kairi decided to help out his sister.

Rima rested her head against the soft cushions from her couch, counting the seconds until her coffee was ready. She was too sleepy yet to pay attention to anything, and all she wanted was a fuming mug of coffee with sugar and milk.

As for _him_... She supposed he was out of the country, since, the last time she saw him was around high school. There were some rumours he went abroad after graduating. Not that she cared, after the way he broke her heart.

 _I'm sorry, I just... can't do this. Not to you._

Shaking her head vigorously and at the same time, pushing his voice away from her mind, Rima realized that the coffee was ready already, so she happily hopped towards the machine, taking her mug from under it and adding sugar and milk. It tasted just like heaven, the right amount of sweetness that she needed.

She didn't want to think of him, after so many years. He's been her first love, and will stay like that. She will probably always have a weakness for him, but, let's face it, just when is she going to randomly run into him?

X

If there was something Rima hated more than the November weather, it was certainly December. And the beginning of the last month of the year certainly was sure to bring more grimaces on her usually calm face. For one, the temperature in her small studio had drastically dropped that very morning and Rima, in her usual attire – tee and shorts – thought she was going to freeze to death, despite the heat coming from everywhere.

If she hated something more than people who weren't tardy, it was definitely the cold weather.

Next thing she knew, snow was going to show an appearance, in such a frosted town.

Crawling out of bed and throwing a cardigan over her thin shoulders, the woman headed towards the kitchen to get her coffee ready. She had to go out that day and look for a new job, since she couldn't afford to have so much free time. Not that she'd mind but... If only she weren't alone.

Passing in the small hall, towards the kitchen, the caramel haired woman stopped for a second and then turned to her right, to look into the two meter high mirror, welcoming her morning appearance.

Rima had never been self-conscious; she knew she had a beautiful body, maybe not as many luscious curves like Utau, or thin in an attractive way like Amu, but she was pretty too. That was, before falling into depression, that is. Right before graduating high school, Rima had fallen into depression, and that's when most of her problems had begun. Anorexia was one of them. Her parents were yet again going through a divorce issue, and her whole world had collapsed, while the only person she ever needed pushed her away.

The weight she lost during that period could never be regained, not even eight years afterwards. And during those years, she's harboured a sort of hate towards mirrors. She felt uncomfortable seeing her whole body in a mirror, for some reason, because she'd pinpoint all those imperfections she felt complexed about.

That time was no exception. The oversized tee was hanging weirdly around her neck, covering most of her upper thighs and her shorts, while the cardigan kept her bony arms at bay. Messy hair was sprawled all over her back and round face, adding to her image a feel of confusion. Her legs were thin and straight, and all in all, Rima felt she had no feminine allure. It was still a mystery how she managed to get so many boyfriends over the course of years.

" _Must be the hair,"_ she thought to herself as she hurried towards the kitchen, to finally have a taste of heaven.

Around noon, she was headed towards a certain coffee shop, where she would be able to read through the newspaper for certain jobs. Rima wore an ivory knitted, oversized shirt, with brown leggings and heeled ankle boots, a thicker coat and a black hat, while her hair flowed in gorgeous curls at her back.

After ordering her coffee, she hurried outside, to get as many newspapers as she could get her hands on, while noticing that the weather wasn't that bad, with the sun shining. The sidewalks were rather icy, true, but she was not the type of woman prone to accidents –

A loud and rather unfeminine shriek left her lips as she happened to slip on the street, her coffee and newspapers flying all over the place, quickly followed by Rima. She was about to hit the ground face first, and she had no idea how to brace herself for the impact, other than close her eyes tight.

A second turned to two and two turned to five, and the impact never happened. With uncertainty, Rima opened her eyes, and that's when she noticed the pair of strong arms holding her gently, keeping her from falling. Steadying on her feet, she turned around, about to thank the person who helped her out and saved her from making a fool out of herself, when she actually, _truly_ saw him.

And at the sight of indigo, her blood froze in her veins.

" _Rima_?" Came his question, his face just as shocked as hers and missing just as much colour.

A gentle breeze swept by them, and she was able to witness the beauty of his long, indigo strands dancing as if to appease her. Amber eyes stared at her, though it seemed they were looking through her, and she was so close not to recognize him, after so many years. He'd matured so nicely, growing taller, and getting leaner than before, though the fact that his hair was still long made Rima feel rather nostalgic. It made him look as though they never changed, despite not seeing one another for eight long years.

"Nagi," she mouthed, wordlessly, unable to make a proper sound at the sight of him.


End file.
